Folding machine



v 4 Sheets-Sheet i L. K. ALDRICH FOLDING MACHINE Filed NOV. 26, 1921 .Aug. 3 1926.

4 Sheets-Sheet 2 -L. K. ALDRICH FOLDING MACHINE Filed Nov. 2G. 1921 atrozneq Aug. 3 1926.

J a 9 c c Aug. 3 1926.

L. K. ALDRICH FOLDING MACHINE Filed NOV. 26, 1921 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Aug 3 1926. 1,594,868

L. K, ALDRICH FOLDING MACHINE I Filed NOV. 26, 1921 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Aug. 3, 1926.

' UNITED STATES LESTER K. ALDRICH, OF SIDNEY, OHIO.

FOLDING MACHINE.

Application filed novemberas, 1921. Serial No. 517,919.

My invention relates to that type of machine employed in folding letters, circulars, etc., preparatory to the mailing or distribution thereof.

An object of my invention is to provide a device of the class described, adapted to perform its work in the simplest and most efiicient manner, regardless of the speed at which it is operated.

Another object is to provide a devlce that will fold the sheets upon which it works, regardless of the direction of the grain of the sheets, and regardless of variations in the thickness and texture of such sheets.

Another object is to provide a device adapted to accommodate itself to variations in the thickness of a given sheet of material.

Another object is to provide a device which can be readily assembled and the parts of which can be readily removed and replaced.

Another object is to provide a folder that will fold bond paper.

Another object is to provide a folder in which there is a minimum resistance to the paper passing into the fold.

Another object is to provide a device wherein the number of folds given the sheet may be varied.

Another object is to provide a device that will accurately fold sheets regardless of the angle at which the top of such sheet may be disposed in relation to the side edges of such sheet.

Another object is to eliminate the use of a tape or belt feed in this type of machine. Another object is to prevent shifting of the paper sheets on the feeding table.

the means described herein and disclosed in the accompanying drawings, in which- Fig. 1 is a perspective view taken from the side and rear of a device embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the device shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a side elevation on line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional view on line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a sectional View on line 55 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged sectional view on line 66 of Fig. 4.

These and other objects are attained byv slots at, through which the Fig. 7 is a sectional view on line 77 of Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is an enlarged inverted plan view of a part of a table showing a locking clamp, all of which form details of my invention.

Fig. 9 is a sectional view on line 9-9 of Fig. 8. Y v

Fig. 10 is an enlarged sectional view on line 10-10 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 11 is an enlarged sectional view on line 1111 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 12 is an enlarged sectional view on line 1212 of Fig. 1

Fig. 13 is a perspective view of a sheet of paper folded by my device.

Fig. 14 is a pers ective view. of a different folding attaina le in my device.

My invention consists of a stand or frame A comprising sides d and a secured in parallel relation to one another and between which sides are revolubly mounted sets of rolls C which in coopera ion with various other parts of the device, carry a sheet of paper through the device and fold the sheet, which in its folded state, is ejected from the device.

The stand or frame A comprises the sides a and a, which sides are maintained in substantial parallelism by means of suitable cross bars a Upwardly. extending arms a and a are formed on the sides a and a. respectively. Two cross bars a, disposed in horizontal relation at the upper and forward end a of the device, have mounted upon them a table B from which sheets of paper are fed to the sets of rollers C. The arms a and a are so disposed in relation to the table and the first set of rollers, comprising rolls 0, a and 0 that as the sheets of paper are fed to the first pair of rollers c and c, the paper is moved upwardly between the guide plates a and (2'' extending between the arms a and a. These plates are mounted in the manner disclosed in Fig. 10. The arms have formed through them pins a extend. The inner ends of these pins engage in bores in the brackets a Brackets a are mounted upon each of the arms a and a. The brackets haveformed in them the slots a, which slots extend longitudinally of the brackets and have mounted in them the Hat bars a" by means of bolts 11, which extend through the brackets and the bars, and the bars have mounted upon their opposite 110 faces the upper plate at and the lower plate I paper is moved as it is fed through the first pair of rollers. The plates have formed in them the aligned slots a, which slots extend in the line of movement of the sheets of paper when entering the way a. A fixed blocka is mounted upon the upper late a in any suitable manner, such, as by bolts, and the fixed block has mounted upon it a rod a which extends substantially parallel with the plates a and a A movable block (1 is mounted upon the rod a. The movable block a has formed on it the lugs (1 and a which lie on opposite sides of the rod (1. The movable block may be secured in an adjusted position upon the rod an by means of a thumb screw or set screw a. The lug 0i carries a pivot a upon the lower end of which is mounted a stop platea carrying lugs a which lugs extend through the slots (1 in the guide plates. The lu a has formed in it an elongated curve slot a formed on a radius employing the pivot a as the center. A wing nut a" extends through the slot 0, and engages in a threaded bore a extending through the stop plate a. This construction permits transverse angular adjustment of the stop plate a in relation to the way a". The upper plate at has formed at its lower end, anupwardly curved portion a, the forward end of which curved portion lies to the rear of the vertical axes of the.first pair of rollers 0 and c. The curved end a of the guide plate and the adjacent feed roll a form a loop receiving recess which enables the curved end of the guide plate to force a previously formed initial loop into the grip of the creasing rolls 0', 0 The lowermost portion of this curved lower end of the plate a is also the lowermost end of the plate taken as a whole, and such lowermost portion is disposed in alignment with or slightly below the upper surface I) of the table B. The curved portion a of the plate a is so positioned in relation to the said upper roller that the forward end thereof lies immediately adjacent the roll 0, Wherefore the lowermost part of the plate a is in substantial vertical alignment with the rearmost portion of the roller 0. The lower end of the late a extends below the upper face I) o the table B and terminates at a place between and below the uppermost portions of the rollers 0' and c at a point substantially directly above the places of contact to the rollers a and 0 upon one another.

The first set of rollers comprises the rollers 0 and 0' having their axes in substantial Vertical alignment, and a third roller 0 disosed at the rear of the roller 0 and having its axis slightly lower than the axis of the roller 0. The axes of these three rollers are disposed substantially in the form of a right angle. These rollers are all of substantially the. same diameter. The roller 0 is revolubly supported by the brackets 0 which brackets are revolubly mounted upon the sides a and a by means of the stud bearings 0 extending from said brackets, and which stud bearings engage in apertures (1 formed in the sides a and a. The roller 0 has a smooth peripheral surface and is driven by friction from the roll 0. The rolls 0' and 0 have knurled peripheral faces and are driven by means of gears mounted upon the ends of the shafts supporting said rolls 0' and 0 The end bearings of the roll 0' are revolubly mounted in the bearings a, which bearings are mounted in bores (L32 formed in the sides a and a. The one end bearing of the roll 0 is made suiiiciently long so that it will extend through the .side

a and has mounted upon it a gear a". When i no sheets are being fed through the device, the roll 0 lies upon the roll 0', the points of contact of these rolls upon one another be-' ing substantially in alignment with the up per surface I) of the table B, the'rear end of which table terminates immediately ad-' jacent the rolls 0 and 0' at a point in front of said point of contact but rearwardly of a vertical line tangential to the most forward portions of said rolls. The roll 0 is revolubly supported by hearing blocks 0, which blocks are slidably mounted in ways a formed in the sides a and a, said ways extending substantially horizontal. Each of the bearing blocks 0 is pivotally mounted upon one end of a screw 0 which extends reciprocally through the rear portions of the sides a and a and upon each of the screws is mounted a spring a the ends of which springs abut the bearing blocks 0 and the rear portions of the sides. Upon that end of the screw 0 extending through the sides, is mounted a threaded sleeve 0 having a knurled head, whereby same may be adjusted upon the screw, and a wing nut 0 which nut may be moved into engagement with the sleeve 0", thereby functioning as a lock nut. The spring 0 normally retains the roller 0 in yielding engagement with the roller 0. The roller 0 has a gear a mounted upon its end bearing, which gear intermeshes with the gear 0 As a sheet of paper is fed between the rolls 0 and 0, it is moved upwardly into the way between the plates a and a until it abuts the lugs extending into said ways. The curved lower end of the plate a over which the sheet of paper rides as it enters way 11 causes the paper to be bulged downwardly thereby compressing the molecules in the upper face of the paper and separating the molecules in the lower face of the paper, wherefore the farther feeding of the sheet between the rolls 0 and 6, causes the sheet of paper to be bulged or bent down wardly to such extent that it will engage the rolls 0 and 0 which rolls grasp the paper and the sheet is carried between the rolls 0' and 0 being creased and folded along one line as the paper passes between said rolls. The second set of rolls comprises rollers 0 0 and 0 of which the roll 0 corresponds to the roll 0, the roll 0 corresponds to the roll 0'. and the roll 0 corresponds to the roll 0 All of the rolls of the second set are knurled. The rolls 0 and 0 have their ,axes in a line extending substantially at 45 to the vertical. The roll 0 is revolubly mourted upon bearing blocks 0 mounted upon the sides a and a, and the roll 0 is mounted upon the sides in the same manner as is the roll 0 mounted. The roll 0 is revolubly mounted upon hearing blocks 0 which are slidably mounted in the way a formed on the sides in the same manner and by similar means as is the roll 0 mounted. The rolls c a and c carry gears c, 0 and 0 respectively, the gear 0 intermeshing with L gears 3 and 0 Plates (n and a, similar to the plates a and a respectively, are mounted upon the arms at extending rearwardly from the sides, the -plates (L35 and (I36 being mounted in the same relation to the second set of rollers as are the plates a and at mounted in relation to the first set of rollers. A shift plate F is so disposed between the sides a and a, that as a sheet of paper passes from between the rolls 0' and 0 the sheet is directed between the rolls 0 and 0 The sheet of paper is fed into the way a between the plates (1 and a in the same manner as is sheet of paper fed into the way a between the plates a and a A stop plate similar in construction to the stop plate a 'is mounted adjustably in relation to the plates a and (L36 as is the stop plate'a mounted in relation to the plates a and a. Therefore, when a sheet of paper entering into the way a abuts the stop plate, the further feeding of paper between the rolls c and 0 causes the paper to be bent or bulged towards the rolls 0 and 0 with the result that said rolls grasp the paper and feed the same between the last mentioned rolls and crease and fold the sheet along a second line. From the rolls 0 and c the folded sheet then passes to the discharge mechanism D.

A stud shaft E is mounted upon the side a and carries a pulley 6 having a hub e at one end of which is formed a gear 6 which intermeshes with the gear 0 The gear 0 on roll 0 intermeshes with the gear 6 The hub e of the pulley has formed in it a circumferential groove 6 adapted to accommodate a belt d, the purpose of which will be explained hereafter.

The table B comprises side boards I) and I), each of which has mounted upon it clamps, such as is shown in Figs. 8 and 9. One of these clamps is disposed at both the forward and rear end of each side board I) and b and each clamp consists of a cored body from the opposite ends of which extend lugs b and 6 through which screws are passed to secure the clamp upon the undersurface of the side boards. The sides 6 of the body are slotted as shown at b the slots being of such size as will accommodate cross bars or rods a extending between the sides a and a. A raised seat 6 is formed within the cored body, and upon this seat a small flat bar 6 engages. The body is provided with a threaded bore 6 at its end opposite to the seat 6 and a thumb screw 6 extends thru the threaded bore '6 and engages the bar 6 The notches or slots in the sides are disposed intermediate the seat I) and the bore (2 so that as the thumb screw operates upon the bar 6 the cross bar a is clamped between the. bar 6 and the undersurface of the side boards of the table. Intermediate strips or boards I) are provided to be inserted between the side boards b and-b and-upon the lower surface of such intermediate boards are mounted spring arms 6 each having a lug 5 whereby the arm may be mounted upon the intermediate boards, and a spring tongue I), the forward ends of which may be sprung from the boards 6 as the cross bar a is moved toward the seat 6 provided therefor at the junction of the spring tongue I) and the intermediate strip 5 connecting the spring tongue and the lug 6 The side boards b and 6 each have mounted upon them an upwardly extending wing b", between which'wi'ng the supply of circulars or letters are disposed preparatory to feeding same to the rolls a and 0. These wings are set into the side boards in the manner shown at 6 Fig. 2, so that the outer surfaces of these wings will extend in substantial alignment with the side edges I) of said side plates. The lower ends of the wings terminate in substantial alignment with the under surface 6 of the side boards as shown in-Fig. 4. The rear ends of these wings terminate at a point adjacent to the rear end of the table.

The sides aand a have formed on them the vertically downward projecting lugs at having aligned bores therein, and through which bores extends a shaft 03 of the discharge mechanism D. The shaft cl has mounted upon it the brackets which may be secured upon the shaft in any adjusted position by means of set screws (Z and the brackets have revolubly mounted upon them,

spools d over which extend belts d Lugs a extending downwardly and forwardly from the sides a and a carry between them the belt roller d and a spool shaft d. The belt roller d has formed on its one end, a bearing or spindle which extends through the side a of the device in the same manner as do the spindles formed on the several rolls-0', 0 etc. This spindle on the belt roller extends through the side a and has mounted upon it a pulley 0Z about which the belt 03 extends and whereby motion from the shaft E may be imparted to the roll (i The shaft (1 carries a bracket d", which in turn carries an idler d, which idler engages the belt d and may be employed to take up any slack in said belt. A spool shaft (i is mounted upon the sides and carries the revolubly mounted spools 03 about which the belts 03 extend. The spool shaft d carries spools (I over which the belts (1 pass in their movement from the spools (Z to the spools (P. As the. belts pass from the spools d to the spools 03 they also engage either the belt roll (i or the belts d, which extends about the roll d. It is preferable that the belts d engage the belts d whereby these sets of two engaging belts cooperate in grasping the folded sheet and carrying same to such place where the sheet is to be discharged. The rear portion ,of the belts (i pass over the spools 01 carried by spool brackets d mounted upon the cross bar d. The upper surfaces of the belts d are disposed immediately below the roll 0 and are spaced therefrom only sufiiciently so' as to clear same. The spool shafts d and d are mounted upon the sides of the device in.the following manner: The sides a and a are provided with pairs of aligned slots adapted to accommodate the said spool shafts. Each of these spool shafts has mounted upon one of its ends a flat arm d" which is either riveted upon the spool shaft or formed integral therewith. This armhas formed in it a slot d adapted to accommodate the shank of a screw (1 removably mounted upon the sides of the device and which screws are used to clamp the arms in engagement with the sides of the device, thereby precluding separation of the shaft from the sides. When it is desired to remove any of the belts, the screw al is actuated so as to release the arm sufficiently to permit the disengagement of the screw and the arm, whereupon the spool shaft is moved longitudinally of itself so as to separate one end of such shaft from the one side of the device, thereupon the spool or the'belts upon the spools may be readily removed from about such shaft. I have described the bearing provided for the one side of the belt roll d. The opposite side of the belt roll is provided with an axial bore d in which a suitable collar bearing (Z is mounted. A stud shaft d, see Fig. 12, is adapted to extend into the bearing (Z and has a shoulder d adapted to bear upon the end of the bearing d so as to preclude lateral movement of the belt roll. The portion of the stud shaft extending away from the roll 03 and adjacent the shoulder d, extends through a bore a in the side a of the device and terminates upon a knurled knob (i extending from a shoulder 03 which engages the side a and limits the movement of the stud shaft through the lug (1 upon which said shaft is mounted.

A shift plate F is mounted upon the sides wand a in such relation to the first and second sets of rollers that by means of said shift plate, the sheets passing from between the rolls 0' and 0 may be directed either to the rolls a or 0 or to the belts al From this it is readily apparent that it is possible to fold the sheets either one or two times. This same arrangement may be multiplied so as to provide a device adapted to repeatedly fold a sheet. The plate F is mounted upon bearings f and 7, which extend through the sides a and a respectively, and which bearings alsoform the axis upon which the plate may be revolubly actuated. The bearing f is considerably long-er than the bearing f and said bearing 7 extends reciprocally through the side a and has mounted upon it a handle 7 by means of which the plate may be actuated and also be locked. The plate F is made of such length that when one end thereof abuts the side a, the other end thereof will be spaced from the side a. A spring f is mounted upon the bearing f and its ends abut the plate F and the side a. The handle fcarries a pin f which is adapted to seat in slots a formed in the side a in such position that the plate F may be locked in either of the positions shown in dotted line and in full line in Fig. 4. The base 12 of the device upon which base the sides a and a rest, have bored sockets a adapted to accommodate the-upper ends of the legs a, and set screws (1 extend through the walls of the socket and secure the base upon the legs, so as to accommodate the device to any unevenness of the floor uponwhich the device rests.

Power is transmitted to the pulley e from any suitable source such as a motor G suspended from the base a, and a switch g mounted upon the side a controls the motor G. A suitable receptacle H is mounted at the rear of the base and into which the the sheet X, a crease is formed at w wherebelts d and d discharge. An apron H covers the gears.

The operation of my device is as follows:

The table B is adjusted to the width of the sheets that are to be folded, and a supply of such sheets. is placed upon the table between the wings I). The table may be increased in width to accommodate different sizes of sheets by employing the supplemental boards 6. The operator feeds the sheets one at a time to the rolls 0 and 0'. The sheet of paper is engaged by the rolls a and 0 and fed into the way a until the rear end or the end of the sheet first fed to the rolls abuts the stop plate, whereupon the continued feed of the, paper between the rolls 0 and 0 causes the 'paper to pass between the rolls 0 and c in the manner before described.

If it is desired to give but one fold to the sheet of paper, the shift plate F is moved to the position shown in dotted line in Fig. 4, therefore, as the paper passes from the rolls 0 and 0 it is directed upon the belts d, which belts move in the direction of the arrows, whereupon the sheet is carried between belts d and d and is discharged into the receptacle H. In event that two folds are to be given to the sheet, the plate F is adjusted to the position shown in full lines in Fig. 4, whereupon the sheet is fed from the rolls a and o to the rolls a" and 0 in the manner before described. In event that any unevenness develops in the material fed through the rolls, the springs which yieldingly retain the rolls 0 and 0 in engagement with the rolls 0' and 0 respectively, will permit the movement of the rolls a and 0 against the yielding resistance of said spring, and permit the sheet to pass between the rolls without any serious damage resulting therefrom. The roll 0 is given a smooth finish and is frictionally driven in order to avoid any possible injury to an operator should his finger come in contact with the roll 0.

In event that the sheets to be folded, nave that ends of the sheets first fed to the rolls, disposed at an angle to the side edges of such sheets, and a fold is desired transversely to said sheets, the stop plate a may be set at the same angle in relation to the sides of the guide plates which will cause the angular edge of the sheets to abut all of the lugs a at the same time, wherefore the desired fold may be given to the sheets. In Figs. 13 and 14 are shown two different ways in which sheets may be folded by the use of this device. When sheets are to be folded as shown in Fig. 13, the movable stop is adjusted at such a position that the end m of the sheet X will travel into the way a" to a distance equal to w'a9 plus wm Therefore, when the rolls a and c engage by that portion of the sheet between m and m will be folded upon that portion of the sheet lying between a," and :0 The folded edge m will then first engage the rolls 0 and 0 and will be carried into the way a between the plates (1 and a, and when said edges abut the stop plate, that portion of the sheet adjacent a2 is grasped between the rolls 0 and 0? and the sheet is therefore fed between said rolls to the discharge belts after providing the sheet with a crease at a). When a sheet of paper is to be folded as shown in Fig. 14, the stop plate is adjusted in such a position that at the time the edge 00 of the paper, which edge is first fed to the rolls 0 and c, abuts the stop plate, that portion of the sheet adjacent m is grasped by the rolls 0' and c and is carried between said rolls, thereby providing the crease at The portion of the sheet bearing the crease at m is then fed into the way a between the second set of plates, and a crease is given to the sheet at w".

The belts 01 may be tensioned by adjusting the brackets d upon the cross bar 03 said brackets being provided with the elongated slots 03 thru which bolts (Z extend. By reference to Fig. 4 it will be apparent that a sheet of paper fed into the way a will be bent or looped downwardly after the edge of the paper abuts the lugs or obstructions a in the way a. The feed of the sheet between the feeding rollers 0 and 0 causes the upper portion of said loop to engage the outer or under face of the curved portion a of the plate a and causes such upper portion of the loop to slide over such outer face of the curved portion of the plate a.

The sliding movement of the upper portion of the loop causes the lower portion of the loop to be moved downwardly, to form an initial crease, so that the feeding rollers 0 and 0 will grasp the initial crease, and move it through the rollers and complete the crease. In other words the curved, or deflecting portion of the plate a functions as a deflector for the paper so as to initiate the fold and to force it in between the rollers 0' and 0 What I claim is 1. A folding device comprising a set of rolls, a pair of said rolls forming a feeding device, one of said pair of rolls together with a third roller forming a creasing and folding device, and guide plates spaced apart in parallel relation, one of said plates having an end extending partly between the first mentioned pair of rolls and being curved toward one of said rolls and forming with the adjacent roll a loop receiving recess adapted to form a loop in the paper and hold such loop and cause'the said curved end to force an initial crease in the paper into the grip of'the creasing rolls, said curved end preventing the loop from slipping past it and thereby avoiding the formation of false loops.

2. A. spool shaft mounting comprising side bearings, one of which has a threade bore a shaft extending through the side bearings adapted to be reciprocated longi tudinally of itself through the bearings, a slotted arm mounted on one end of the shaft adapted to engage the one side bearing when the shaft is seated in operative position upon the side. bearings, and a screw extending through the slot in the arm and engaging in the threaded bore in the side bearing.

3. A tape roll mounting comprising side frames having aligned bores, a tape roll mounted between the side frames and having an axial bore in one end and a spindle extending axially from its other end, the spindle extending through the bore in one of the side frames, a bearing collar in the axial bore in the tape roll, a stud bearin extending through the bore in the second side frame and extending into the collar bearing, and revolubly supporting the same,

and means to lock the stud shaft upon the side frame.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name this 16th day of November, 1921.

LESTER K. ALDRICH. 

